Watchful neighbors praise new Lake City brewpub

City action could also help with problem street drunks

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 10:36 pm, Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO

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Customers enjoy dinner on Monday, March 26, 2012 during the grand opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and brewery seems to have tapped an undiscovered customer base in Lake City.

Customers enjoy dinner on Monday, March 26, 2012 during the grand opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and

Young customers entertain themselves as they wait for a table on Monday, March 26, 2012 during the grand opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and brewery seems to have tapped an undiscovered customer base in Lake City.

Young customers entertain themselves as they wait for a table on Monday, March 26, 2012 during the grand opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing

The exterior of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery is shown on Lake City Way NE. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and brewery seems to have tapped an undiscovered customer base in Lake City.

The exterior of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery is shown on Lake City Way NE. The new Lake City business has North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and brewery seems to have tapped an

The bar area is crowded with customers on Monday, March 26, 2012 during the grand opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery. The new Lake City business has got North Seattle buzzing as the family-friendly restaurant and brewery seems to have tapped an undiscovered customer base in Lake City.

At least twice a week, neighbors have been collecting them, trying to bring change to the neighborhood. Many say there's a disproportionate number of services there for people with addictions and not enough focus from the city on helping businesses.

Neighbors are calling for more proactive youth programs, worker training opportunities, or at least a way to address the drunks that hang out around the post office and behind the library.

"I hear what my customers say and people feel uncomfortable after dark," said Annette Heide-Jessen, co-owner of Kaffeklatsch on Lake City Way Northeast. "The more you get these store fronts opened up it will move those people along and there will be less loitering in front of doors. That will make it much better for public safety."

If a city plan moves forward, Lake City stores that sell fortified beer and wine will be asked to voluntarily stop selling the drinks to all customers between 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. The full-time program would not include bars and restaurants and is scheduled to begin May 1.

"We want these businesses to be successful in a number of ways, just not basing your whole business model on these products," Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith said at a Lake City public meeting late last month.

Though private liquor distribution beginning June 1 could make the problem more complicated, the city planned to have an agreement with Lake City's three largest alcohol distributors by Sunday. The mayor's office could not confirm Monday whether that happened. Smith has said notices would go to retailers by April 15.

However, it's a brewery and restaurant in the core of Lake City that many say is already turning the neighborhood around.

'People are going to feel good about it'

Neighbors say change was noticeable on Lake City Way as soon as co-owners Brent Norton and Todd Carden took down paper that had been covering the windows for more than a year. The building once home to a model train center reopened as the Elliott Bay Public House and Brewery – an upscale, family-friendly neighborhood gathering place with a 45-foot bar and capacity for nearly 300 people.

The restoration revealed the buildings fir floors and incorporated the structural beams into the ambiance. In back is the 10-barrel brew house where staff has already made six organic beers, and 16 of their 32 taps are Elliott Bay brews.

"The pedestrian traffic has already increased and that's within a week," said Heide-Jessen, also a Lake City Chamber of Commerce board member.

The restaurant was packed when it opened March 26 and the spots for 100 people in the customized mug club sold out that day. Again last weekend, there was more than an hour wait and the runoff packed some neighboring businesses.

They plan to release more customized beer mugs, but because there was so much demand for the No. 1 club spot they decided to hold a silent auction through April 8 with the money going to Lake City charities. Donating the top bid money - $500 through Monday afternoon - "is just the right thing to do," Norton said.

With each receipt, staff gives a white oval sticker with "LCW" in black type. Carden said they hope to bring pride to Lake City Way as they did with B-Town and their Burien location.

"I think it will be interesting to see where Lake City will be in five years if this pace continues," he said, praising Kaffeklatsch, Toyoda Sushi and other neighboring businesses. "If we get more people walking up and down this street, people are going to feel good about it."

'We're just a catalyst'

Norton grew up in Ohio and, before he graduated college in 1993, he spent a semester in London. It was there he learned to love microbrews – a far cry from the big-batch Budweiser and Busch he was used to in Ohio – and was impressed with Seattle's selection of microbrews after moving here in '94.

Though he came for photography, Norton found a job at Maritime Pacific Brewing Company within a week. There he met Carden, who also started cleaning kegs for minimum wage. Later that year, many of the brewers and sales staff left for a Montana company and the friends transitioned into sales jobs.

"When I drive through Seattle, I still know all the short cuts," Norton said of his days visiting dozens of bar owners.

In July 1997, Norton and Carden opened Elliott Bay's first location in West Seattle, and later opened the Burien location on Southwest 152nd Street. When staff was smaller in the early years, Norton and Carden washed dishes, cleaned kegs, handled the paperwork, wrote the checks – any job that needed to be filled.

"We've always had great regulars," Carden said, "and some employees have been with us since the day we opened."

The owners are still involved in day-to-day operations. When the Lake City restaurant was packed during the opening week, both Carden and Norton helped out washing dishes.

As for the praise they've received from neighbors, Carden said the staff is thankful. He also knows Monday was the first day of their second week and there's a lot ahead.

"We're just a catalyst," he said, "and it's the neighborhood that comes together."